


Caged Bird

by EnukiTanuki (Treekianthia)



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M, Ficlet, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/EnukiTanuki
Summary: When Edea continuously receives love letters from an anonymous source, she starts to get annoyed. Who are they from and why won't they leave her alone? Whatever the answer, she just wants the letters gone. (Fic Archive: 03/13/18)
Relationships: Edea Lee/Ringabel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Caged Bird

**Author's Note:**

> The following fic was originally posted to outside sources on 03/13/18. It is being posted here for archival purposes and to help document my progress as a writer. More info on myself and my works can be found on my twitter woodland_knight.

The day was quiet, a soft hush filling the palace halls as lords and servants alike spent their time enjoying the summer air. A group of beautiful women, all potential wives for the Emperor, walked through the garden as their attendees and ladies-in-waiting watched from nearby structures. Edea, having been given the day off by her eldest adoptive sister, Einheria, watched the group from a small residential room nearby and wondered what they could be discussing. More than likely it was their plans to win the Emperor’s affection or pitting their servants and attendants against each other- all things she couldn’t care less about.

Huffing, Edea turned her attention to a group of letters she had placed down and pushed them away. Page after page, all filled with the wordy nonsense of a crazed romantic, was carelessly thrown around on the table she sat at. Each one was an anonymous letter or poem she had received from a man claiming he loved her, but to her it was all garbage and meaningless proposals. As a lady of the court, she had no cares about love or romance! All she cared about was proving that her older sister was the Lady who would make the perfect wife for the Emperor!

Yet week after week, no matter how much she ignored them, Edea still received these horrible and mushy declarations of love from seemingly out of nowhere. Sometimes the letters would be delivered to her by one of Einheria’s lower attendees, while other times she would find them already placed in her room. It was unnerving and beyond creepy, and she knew that once she found the culprit she would set him straight. He couldn’t keep himself hidden away forever! One day she would manage to catch him in the act and stop him from ever sending her something again!

“That’ll show him!” Edea boldly exclaimed as she banged her fists down on the table, though her oversized, scarlet sleeves muffled any sound it would make. “It’s what he gets for being an obnoxious creepy!”

Edea had no shortage of ways to take care of the man that she deemed to be insane. She was from a High Noble family, and as soon as her father found out what had been occuring, he would swiftly come to his daughter’s aid. The most likely plan of action would have Edea’s adoptive elder brother Alternis eradicate the problem, but public humiliation was also a potential punishment. Alternatively, her father could pay the man to leave his daughter alone and ship him off to another country. In truth, Edea felt she had nothing to worry about.

It was not long after that, however, that her sister’s favorite servant came in holding another letter. He nervously handed the delicately folded page and flower to Edea before running off, and Edea grumbled loudly before unfolding the letter. Reading it, she could see it was another one of the anonymous loverboy’s lengthy and wordy proposals for them to run away together, and with each line Edea was angered more. She hated it! Even if he did include a poem that called her beautiful, or compared her eyes to the summer sky, or… Or said she was like a bird so lovely that it was a shame she was caged… He would never woo her!

Aggravated, Edea threw the poem and letter into the messy pile and cried out in annoyance. “Just leave me alone already!” she said before throwing herself backwards onto the floor. “I’m not interested in your stupid proposals!”

Until Edea was able to find out who was sending these letters to her, they would only continue to pile up. She knew he wasn’t going to win her over, no matter how hard he tried, and all of his poems and letters were just going to waste. The anonymous author was better off giving them to a girl who would constantly want to reread them, a girl who was always wondering when the next one would arrive, a girl hoping to one day meet him and take him up on his proposal… Somebody who was very much the complete opposite of her! She wanted these letters gone!

“Maybe if I just get rid of all these now, he’ll discover that I no longer have them and finally be discouraged enough to leave me alone!” she told herself as she sat back up and moved all the poems back towards her. She gathered all the poems and letters in a neat, organized pile before picking them up and holding them close. All she had to do now was throw them into a stream to wash away or into the fireplace to burn, and then they would no longer be a problem!

Her body, however, locked itself into place as soon as she tried to stand up. Edea was still holding the poems close, and she felt her heart pounding as she struggled to get herself onto her feet. Her face began to turn red with anger, and she became flustered as she told herself to move under her breath. It felt as if some sort of heavy feeling in her heart was weighing her down, but she couldn’t understand why. Letting out a loud groan, she finally managed to move when she threw the pages into the air.

“Fine, be that way!” she shouted as she threw herself back onto the ground once more. The pages started floating down around her, and she couldn’t tell how many there even were. It’s not like she really cared anyway, and she was still determined to get rid of all of them no matter how long it took. For now it would have to wait, but she was sure that by the same time tomorrow, the letters and poems would all be gone and somewhere they could no longer bother her. What wonderful relief awaited her in the future!

And then maybe, just maybe, with those pages gone, that anonymous man “Ringabel” would finally leave her alone.

.

..

….

_ A lovely bird in a cage cannot fly, _

_ So she sings her song instead. _

_ With eyes blue like a summer sky, _

_ She sings her song again. _

_ So beautiful with those red wings, _

_ Though only a few can see. _

_ A true Empress among us all, _

_ Locked away without the key. _

_ Let me free you from this place. _

**Author's Note:**

> This AU was inspired by the anime Chōyaku Hyakunin isshu: Uta Koi, which is all about the Japanese anthology of 100 Love Poems. I highly recommend checking this anime out if you're able to, as it's very fun and tells many great stories.


End file.
